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litany of gulps posted:Where are you getting the substitutions from? My book has them sprinkled throughout in the text of the various recipes, but my copy of Every Grain of Rice doesn't say anything like this in the recipe itself, aside from maybe a couple of sentences about some people adding pickled chili paste at the end for color and fruitiness. Glad it worked for you. That sub comes from The Food of Sichuan, her newest book. If you're making Sichuan food that's the one I'd recommend, her older Sichuan recipes are kinda lovely but the revised ones in that book are great.
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Feb 13, 2021 04:01
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I think gochujang isn't the worst sub either, especially if your dish is going to be sweetened at all. Sambal + aka miso is a good too, of course.
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Feb 13, 2021 17:34
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I might be on a high horse here but I don’t think gochujang is a good sub at all for doubanjiang. I dunno, I feel like they’re on two different planets when it comes to flavor profile. I made fenzhengrou for cny this year and it was dope, it’s also easy as gently caress and just takes a while. Highly recommend.
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Feb 14, 2021 02:46
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I can only get Lee Kum Kee (Hong Kong) douban, which I would argue is no true douban at all. A friend once brought me some of the good pixian stuff that he'd found in Germany and it was not just on another level, it was a completely different product.
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Feb 14, 2021 03:08
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Nah I agree, gochujang is not a functional for either doubanjiang or the pickled erjingtiaos. Again, I think it would probably taste good but it would be a Korean eggplant thing, not yuxiang. I get the "oh poo poo I am in the middle of dinner and don't have X" thing but otherwise I would not try to sub doubanjiang. It's not like it's hard to find. Just don't get the Lee Kum Kee poo poo.
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Feb 14, 2021 03:09
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thotsky posted:I can only get Lee Kum Kee (Hong Kong) douban, which I would argue is no true douban at all. A friend once brought me some of the good pixian stuff that he'd found in Germany and it was not just on another level, it was a completely different product. LKK douban is garbage. If you want to make Japanese style Sichuan I'd use that, otherwise no thank you. Also when you get real doubanjiang, there are two kinds. Red oil and aged. The red oil stuff is much less funky since it's only aged a few months, and it has a bunch of added chili oil. It should be bright red. The aged is a thick paste and more of a brown color, it's aged at least a year but the good stuff I got is three years. Get both if you really want to go hard on Sichuan food. Which you do, because it is the best. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Feb 14, 2021 |
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Feb 14, 2021 03:12
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Grand Fromage posted:Also when you get real doubanjiang, there are two kinds. Red oil and aged. The red oil stuff is much less funky since it's only aged a few months, and it has a bunch of added chili oil. It should be bright red. The aged is a thick paste and more of a brown color, it's aged at least a year but the good stuff I got is three years. Get both if you really want to go hard on Sichuan food. Which you do, because it is the best. Yeah, the good stuff I got that one time was the latter kind.  Big chunks and stuff too, you really had to chop it up before using.
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Feb 14, 2021 03:30
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Obviously gochujang and doubanjiang are super different flavorwise (and texturally), I just can't think of anything that's closer (outside of the sambal + red miso suggestion). It would be closer if you mix in some doenjang (or miso). I mean, all of the above are East Asian fermented pastes whose primary ingredients are red chiles + soybeans and/or starches. Their names even share characters. I do agree that doubanjiang is really unsubstitutable--especially Pixian or other good stuff--but I disagree that it's easy to find. I live in NYC and can get Korean and Japanese ingredients (like gochujang, doenjang, several varieties of miso) and even SE Asian ingredients (sambal, good fish sauces, etc) in lots of bodegas and grocery stores in many neighborhoods, but it seems like I have to go to (a) Chinatown to get real doubanjiang (and dark soy). Maybe that doesn't map to other cities well, but I find Chinese ingredients tougher to source generally. That said, if you're going to try to cook Sichuan, yes, getting real doubanjiang is super worth it. The jar I have in my fridge is one of the most delicious things in there (and sort of the inverse of the LKK comment above, I use it instead of lovely Japanese tobanjan for ramen/other J-Chinese dishes, and it slaps in all of those, too).
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Feb 14, 2021 03:37
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thotsky posted:Yeah, the good stuff I got that one time was the latter kind. This is definitely the most common brand, and it's perfectly good. There are fancier versions but if you can find this you're good to go. The same company also makes a red oil version, you usually find that in a jar and the non-oil one in a bag. Scythe posted:I do agree that doubanjiang is really unsubstitutable--especially Pixian or other good stuff--but I disagree that it's easy to find. I live in NYC and can get Korean and Japanese ingredients (like gochujang, doenjang, several varieties of miso) and even SE Asian ingredients (sambal, good fish sauces, etc) in lots of bodegas and grocery stores in many neighborhoods, but it seems like I have to go to (a) Chinatown to get real doubanjiang (and dark soy). Maybe that doesn't map to other cities well, but I find Chinese ingredients tougher to source generally. That's odd to me. I'm in an uninteresting city in Ohio and every Chinese grocery here has real Pixian doubanjiang, plus since it's a fermented ingredient I can order it online, it doesn't need to be refrigerated to ship. Maybe the NYC stores are more culture-specific instead of the sort of broad-spectrum "Asian" thing we get out here, and that's actually working against you. My thoughts on the gochujang-doubanjiang issue is that gochujang is sweet, it uses a different and pretty distinct variety of chili, and it doesn't get fermented into funkiness. It doesn't use broad beans either. This goes the other way too, I don't think there's anything that makes a good sub for gochujang if you're cooking Korean food. I don't know what the situation is in other countries, but in the US you can easily get doubanjiang online if there's no local Chinese store that has it, so I'd just get it instead of trying to substitute. Mala Market has great three year aged stuff that is worth the money, it's amazing.
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Feb 14, 2021 03:54
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Yeah, in Chicago I’d have to go looking for Pixian doubanjiang, and my local grocery catered to just about every culture possible. Generic groceries in Seattle don’t have anything except maybe LKK. The Asian groceries sell 1 pound bags of good Pixian stuff. I haven’t found any 3 year old stuff yet, but I just need to go look for it I think. I was surprised as it’s mostly Korean/Japanese focused, but they had really coverage for most of Asia. I do prefer the paste version, as I tend to just add oil and fry it gently myself. I am planning to make my own again after harvesting my erjingtiao this summer. First batch wasn’t very good, but I had ingredient issues. I may try another smaller batch of soy sauce again too.
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Feb 14, 2021 04:36
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 Chef Mike style Dan Dan noodles with gai choy (salted, then blanched). TVP (rehydrated with mushroom powder) and hoisin were substituted for meat and oyster sauce, respectively. There are some things I'd change for next time, but it was alright. Next time I'll saute the greens in garlic, ginger, and soy, and the TVP needs more mushroom powder if I'm not going to use meat.
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Feb 14, 2021 07:42
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Mister Facetious posted:
This looks great. Also if you didn't know, they make vegetarian mushroom "oyster" sauce that might make a better substitute than hoisin.
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Feb 14, 2021 16:43
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Vegetarian oyster sauce is definitely a better sub. But if you're a vegetarian for environmental reasons, oyster farming is pretty unobjectionable.
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Feb 14, 2021 18:27
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I can't taste it anyway v v, it's pretty much lost against all the other flavors.
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Feb 14, 2021 18:42
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This is a stupid question. So I am very sorry. But what is the proper Chinese dumpling that is closest to a Dim Sim? Coz I know Dim Sims are bastardized dumplings that are only sold in Fish and Chip shops etc. But they must have come from something. Sorry again for the stupid question.
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Feb 15, 2021 07:23
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An American pot sticker is close to a dim sim, that's my only contribution. I honestly can't think of anything similar to the American pork and cabbage pot sticker.
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Feb 15, 2021 07:34
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oops misread
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Feb 15, 2021 07:41
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BrigadierSensible posted:This is a stupid question. So I am very sorry. Shape-wise they're something like a closed, machine-made siu mai. As with many diasporic cuisines, they're a result of available techniques, equipment, and ingredients meeting customer preferences. There's plenty of room for dim sims to coexist with dim sum; I eat one with my parents when they're feeling nostalgic (a lot) and I eat the other when I'm devastatingly hung over or about to be. They both have their place.
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Feb 15, 2021 08:54
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Made dongpo pork today and I decided to get a little creative and added maple syrup instead of rock sugar. Interestingly enough it came out less sweet and it blended in to the point that I didn't know it was there. So not a strong maple flavour. So overall, not bad. It didn't add the twist I thought it would, but it was still good
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Feb 16, 2021 05:13
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Quick query - Does doubanjiang need or want to be cooked? Not that I'm planning on mainlining it raw but does the flavour change at all in cooking?
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Feb 16, 2021 19:47
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I've never seen it used uncooked. Usually you fry it in oil for a minute or two as one step of the process.
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Feb 16, 2021 19:54
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 Hey if I get this good Chinese cooking wine does it go bad fast once I open it or is it shelf stable
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Feb 18, 2021 03:22
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I put it into smaller bottles and keep it in the fridge. I don't know what would happen to it unfridged but it keeps fine in the fridge for a while, never had it go off before I finish it.
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Feb 18, 2021 03:29
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I keep mine out in the cooler area of the kitchen, I've never even once noticed any change to it. I suspect it's one of those things where it's pretty much bulletproof if you use it within a year.
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Feb 18, 2021 03:31
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 Is this the noodle for chow mein/lo mein/dan dan
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Feb 18, 2021 03:57
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its probably fine. for dandan mian they more often use a flat noodle but who cares. ive also never fridged cooking wine lol
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Feb 18, 2021 04:16
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Yeah but you can always get more. It's a rare enough find here I'm going to extend its shelf life as long as I can when I do run across it.
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Feb 18, 2021 04:24
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 Do I use a corkscrew?
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Feb 18, 2021 06:48
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Steve Yun posted:
Wine is something that can oxidize, but putting it in the fridge will slow down that process and you can use a vacuum sealer to slow it down a little bit more. I’ve found that rice wine seems to be a lot more stable than grape wine in general though, so I tend to store it at room temp with a tight fitting lid or top of some sort. If I fermented it myself I’ll use a tight fitting lid and store in the fridge after opening.
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Feb 18, 2021 06:53
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Steve Yun posted:
Yep, it's a stubby chode cork.
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Feb 18, 2021 06:55
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Jhet posted:Wine is something that can oxidize, but putting it in the fridge will slow down that process and you can use a vacuum sealer to slow it down a little bit more. I’ve found that rice wine seems to be a lot more stable than grape wine in general though, so I tend to store it at room temp with a tight fitting lid or top of some sort. If I fermented it myself I’ll use a tight fitting lid and store in the fridge after opening. Isn’t cooking wine 黄酒 and isn’t it already oxidized kinda like sherry?
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Feb 18, 2021 10:11
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I'm based in the UK and I get most of my Chinese stuff from Wing Yip supermarket. I often buy XO sauce and I found it really strange how reverentially it is treated - it's kept in a locked cabinet and they really don't want you taking it round the supermarket with you, they want to go and get it when you're at the checkout like it's their most expensive spirits or something. I don't get why, however, because there's plenty more stuff out on the shelves that costs more (XO sauce is only £10 or so) and would be easier to shoplift. Has anyone else experienced this?
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Feb 18, 2021 15:17
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Sir Sidney Poitier posted:I'm based in the UK and I get most of my Chinese stuff from Wing Yip supermarket. I often buy XO sauce and I found it really strange how reverentially it is treated - it's kept in a locked cabinet and they really don't want you taking it round the supermarket with you, they want to go and get it when you're at the checkout like it's their most expensive spirits or something. I don't get why, however, because there's plenty more stuff out on the shelves that costs more (XO sauce is only £10 or so) and would be easier to shoplift. No, but whenever I go to the Asian supermarkets here, they lock up the Tiger Balm. I don't know why, XO sauce tastes much better,
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Feb 18, 2021 15:19
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hakimashou posted:Isn’t cooking wine 黄酒 and isn’t it already oxidized kinda like sherry? Sherry is left in barrels to ferment with a particular yeast and blending process that does metabolize oxygen from the ingress through the barrels. If it were really oxidizing it would taste a lot like cardboard. The yeast in a sherry flor keep that from happening and metabolize it into other compounds. Huangjiu is kept in earthenware to age and the oxygen permeability depends on how it’s made, but on average it allows for less oxygen than concrete and granite tanks. Wood is famously quite permeable, and depending on species and construction, can let in a lot to a little. Sherry casks aren’t waxed, and that’s one way to really lower that movement. Huangjiu is normally kept in glazed earthenware, so that would be low oxygen environment. Aging doesn’t necessarily mean oxidation, and plenty of beer and wine is aged for years without oxidation, the creation of ascetic acid, or other spoilage processes. You do mix oxygen into the mash when it’s started, but that’s normal for alcoholic fermentation. The A. oryzae needs it as much as the yeasts do. But it’s used early in fermentation, and is used pretty quickly to leave a carbon dioxide rich environment.
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Feb 18, 2021 17:20
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I can't get Huangjiu; importing it would be impossible or expensive, and there's no cheap sherry here to use as an alternative either. I homebrew a lot though, so maybe I'll just make my own; I'll probably be able to track down some starter culture.
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Feb 19, 2021 00:32
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Magna Kaser posted:ive also never fridged cooking wine lol This higher end stuff I just got is not salted like most shaoxing, which made me curious
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Feb 19, 2021 00:44
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thotsky posted:I can't get Huangjiu; importing it would be impossible or expensive, and there's no cheap sherry here to use as an alternative either. I homebrew a lot though, so maybe I'll just make my own; I'll probably be able to track down some starter culture. If you can find yeast balls for fermented rice, it's essentially the same cultures. The most wretched part is the racking off the solids multiple times while clarifying. I'm planning on a 5 gallon batch in a month or two and I'm planning on using my a 8 gallon wine bucket (or two) for the first round of things. I want at least a dozen 750mL bottles, so my batch size is getting large. The hardest part is figuring out how I'm going to cook all that rice effectively. So much so that I'm considering finding some yellow label Angel Leaven. https://en.angelyeast.com/blog/distilled-spirits-and-biofuels/how-to-use-the-angel-leaven-correctly.html You don't need to cook the rice for this to work, but it's more commonly used to make distilled product and not just wine. I'm not planning on making baijiu anytime soon, so I'm not sure if it's worth the price of tracking it down. I'll almost certainly  about this in the brewing thread if I do.
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Feb 19, 2021 00:51
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Jhet posted:If you can find yeast balls for fermented rice, it's essentially the same cultures. The most wretched part is the racking off the solids multiple times while clarifying. I'm planning on a 5 gallon batch in a month or two and I'm planning on using my a 8 gallon wine bucket (or two) for the first round of things. I want at least a dozen 750mL bottles, so my batch size is getting large. The hardest part is figuring out how I'm going to cook all that rice effectively. Definitely do a write-up for either approach.
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Feb 19, 2021 00:52
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Is all baijiu terrible or is there a good one
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Feb 19, 2021 06:20
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Steve Yun posted:Is all baijiu terrible or is there a good one They're all good.
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Feb 19, 2021 06:57
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